Subject Verb Agreement (Intervening Phrases)

Front

What is Subject-Verb Agreement?

Back

Subject-Verb Agreement is the grammatical rule that the subject of a sentence must agree in number (singular or plural) with its verb.

Front

What are Intervening Phrases?

Back

Intervening phrases are words or groups of words that come between the subject and the verb in a sentence but do not affect the agreement between them.

Front

In the sentence 'Andy, accompanied by Jessie and Jill, _____ tomorrow,' what is the correct verb form?

Back

The correct verb form is 'leaves' because 'Andy' is singular.

Front

In the sentence 'Nebraska, as well as Montana and Idaho, _____ severe winters,' what is the correct verb form?

Back

The correct verb form is 'gets' because 'Nebraska' is singular.

Front

In the sentence 'A headache, accompanied by sniffles and sneezing, _____ a symptom of the flu,' what is the correct verb form?

Back

The correct verb form is 'is' because 'A headache' is singular.

Front

In the sentence 'Toby, plus Andrea and Ali, _____ for the job today,' what is the correct verb form?

Back

The correct verb form is 'interviews' because 'Toby' is singular.

Front

In the sentence 'Enthusiasm for the proposal or excitement about it _____ not the same as solid support,' what is the correct verb form?

Back

The correct verb form is 'is' because 'Enthusiasm' is singular.

Front

What is the rule for using 'or' in subject-verb agreement?

Back

When 'or' is used, the verb agrees with the subject that is closest to it.

Front

What is the rule for using 'and' in subject-verb agreement?

Back

When 'and' is used, the verb typically agrees with the plural subject.

Front

How does the presence of an intervening phrase affect subject-verb agreement?

Back

Intervening phrases do not change the number of the subject; the verb must still agree with the main subject.